News and Events

Benchmark Homes Wins Pacesetter Award

Custom Home
magazine has named Benchmark Custom Luxury Homes of
Jacksonville Beach as a Pacesetter Award winner for 2005.

Benchmark Homes was designated as one of the custom building industry’s top
achievers in 2005. Company owners Rich and Nancy Morrison, and Vice President of
Operations Irina Johnson, accepted the award in front of industry peers on
November 12, 2005 during the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Custom
Builder Symposium at the Sheraton Hotel in Atlanta.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Benchmark owner Nancy Morrison. “It’s very nice to be
recognized by the NAHB and a national magazine for all our hard work. We were up
against fierce competition, and it was quite an honor to be chosen.”

Benchmark Homes has won the 2005 National Association of
Home Builders' Pacesetter Award for Management. (Left to
right) Vice President, Operations Irina Johnson, and
Benchmark owners Rich and Nancy Morrison. (Photo by Paul
Johnson)

The 11th annual Pacesetter Awards, co-sponsored by Custom Home and the
NAHB Custom Builders Committee, honor the industry’s highest achievers. “The
Pacesetter winners are among the best in the business,” said Custom Home
editor Leslie Ensor. “We received a record number of entries this year and these
winners truly are the best of the best.”

Winners are chosen because of their achievements in the building business,
and are selected by the magazine’s editors for their excellence in one of six
categories critical to business success. Through their customer service, design,
innovation, management, production, or marketing techniques, award recipients
set the standard for excellence in their industry.

Benchmark Homes took top honors this year for their management practices. During the past five years, the company has created a management philosophy
designed to maximize the effective use of resources and personnel and create a
system that is not only efficient and profitable, but one that also keeps their
customers satisfied.

“We recognized a need in the custom home building industry,” said Morrison.
“We wanted to create a business model with a corporate infrastructure, but with
the flexibility and dedication to customer care that only a small company can
offer. Since we’re a custom builder, each of our homes – and each of our
customers – is unique. In the end, we’re driven by the needs of those customers,
and it’s our job to make sure that each home we build is exactly what they
want.”

Attention to detail and making sure each custom home is completed on time and
on budget is one of the ways Benchmark Homes keeps their
customers happy. “We place a great deal of importance on scheduling and
adherence to strict quality-control checklists,” said Irina Johnson, the
company’s Vice President of Operations.

“From the minute the lot is purchased, we oversee every aspect of design and
construction, to make sure every detail of each home is as perfect as it can
possibly be,” Johnson said. “From choosing the placement of the home on the lot
to take the greatest advantage of its natural surroundings, throughout the
entire design and construction process, we’re there.”

Morrison is also quick to point out that the company’s relationship with
their customers doesn’t end when their home is completed. “We want our clients
to know that we’re there for them after the sale,” she said. “We don’t walk away
when the initial job is finished. We don’t just want the customers happy the day
they move in – we want them to stay happy. We are very dedicated to following up
immediately on warranty issues or any other assistance our clients may require.”

Benchmark’s employees share Morrison’s dedication to customer care and
excellence. “We make a practice of hiring and retaining people who share our
vision for quality,” she said. “Our project managers are some of the best in the
business, and we limit the number of homes each one takes on at any given time,
to make sure each customer gets the level of attention they deserve.”